Could you imagine the scene…. 25,000 empty seats at Old Trafford, Anfield, Stamford Bridge or the Emirates stadium as football fans here in the UK protest about matches being moved for the sake of television?

That was the case in Germany on Monday night where 25,000 Borussia Dortmund fans protested at the switching of their Bundesliga clash with Augsburg from its usual weekend slot to a Monday night.

Instead of accepting it and rocking up to the Westfalenstadion, the Dortmund fans stood their ground. They stayed away with the 54,300 attendance, some 25,000 on a usual crowd at Germany’s best-supported club.

From my vantage point here across the channel, I can only admire and applaud their actions. Because is it time football fans here in the UK took a similar stance.

The choreo of Borussia Dortmund's fans prior to the Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Schalke 04 on November 25, 2017 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Alexandre Simoes/Borussia Dortmund/Getty Images)

The interference of the UK’s leading broadcasting companies has certainly infuriated supporters for many years now and it was highlighted again recently when the scheduling for the FA Cup quarter-finals was announced.

Poor Brighton & Hove Albion, for example. The Seagulls are through to the last eight for the first time since 1986, so there was some justifiable excitement when the draw pitted them against Manchester United.

But that joy soon turned to dismay when the match was switched to a Saturday night, kicking off at 7.45pm for the sake of TV, meaning that many Brighton fans stand no chance of seeing their team in action, without considerable expense or disruption.

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Not a single care or thought was given to those Brighton fans, or those thousands of travelling United fans either. The last train to leave Manchester for Brighton is at 8.45pm that night, so just how are they supposed to get to and from the game?

What about the younger generation of supporters as well? What about the Dad that wants to take his young son and/or daughter along? The match kicks off at 7.45pm and with the prospect of extra-time and even penalties now, with the FA doing away with replays at this stage of the competition, fans may not be able to get away from Old Trafford until 11pm! And if you are driving back to Brighton, the prospect of a 260-mile, six-hour drive is not just daunting, but downright dangerous as well.

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It’s an absolutely ludicrous and disgraceful scenario and shows just how inconsiderate the TV companies and the FA have become as they continue to chase the buck.

But what can be done?

The only way is to take action and fight back. So what if there was a widespread boycott of games on a particular weekend - from the Premier League through the Championship and into Leagues One and Two - to show the authorities that we have had enough? After all, this is a problem that affects all leagues and all clubs.

The TV companies will argue the point that they pay considerable money to show such games, so they can pretty much do what they like. It is a fair point, so it has to be down to the FA to stand up on behalf of football fans everywhere and not allow this to happen.

Such is the demand for tickets at Old Trafford, though, you can rest assured there will be a capacity crowd there to watch it. But how powerful and striking would it be to see football fans unite and 25,000 empty seats as supporters show that, like those Dortmund fans, long-suffering football fans have had enough?